Cast for The Colonel

Martin Marquez played Pablo
A versatile actor with an ear for accents, Martin’s screen credits inc. Hotel Babylon, Elizabeth, Eastenders, Heartbeat & The Business. For theatre, Any Thing Goes & Love’s Labour Lost at the National & Identical Twins at the Royal Court.

Agnes Brekke played Elena
A bilingual BA Hons Graduate of European Theatre Arts from Rose Bruford College in Kent, other radio credits for Agnes include BBC World Service's La Reina de la Papa. In theatre, Alphette & Angelique in Tartuffe for Illuminated Theatre and a devised street theatre production of The Tempest by Zecora Ura Theatre as well as field research in dance & theatre in Columbia. 

Daniel Cerqueira played The Colonel
Theatre includes: Two Tigers (Edinburgh Festival), Caledonian Road (White Bear Theatre), Blue Vienna (Hampstead Theatre), Ten Years of Freedom, Crocodile Looking at Birds (Lyric, Hammersmith), Antony and Cleopatra (Moving Theatre Company), Attempts On Her Life, Cleansed, The Crutch, Plasticine (Royal Court), Luminosity (RSC) Television includes: Pirate Prince, Hot Dog Wars, Sunburn, I’m Alan Partridge, The D Day Landings, Pinochet’s Progress, Rome and Waking The Dead. Film includes: Valley Girls, Saving Private Ryan, Mad Cows & Sixty Six.

Angus Wright played The Surgeon
Currently playing Shylock in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Merchant of Venice, Angus trained at Edinburgh University and Central. Winner of the BBC Radio Drama Carleton Hobbs Award, credits inc. Mr. Pluck in Nicholas Nickleby, Warwick in St Joan at the National & Stephen Carson in the BBC’s Waking the Dead.

Alfredo Cordal, Script Advisor
Born in Santiago Chile in the 1940s, Alfredo produced literary programmes for Santiago television channels 13, 9, and 7 from 1966 - 1972. He was a political refugee in Beunos Aires and has lived in exile in London since 1974.  His poetry has been published in Anthology of Latin American Poets 1988; Voices - a cd released by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and Nomads as Nomads, an anthology of Spanish and Latin American poets and Writers in Great Britain, 1997.  Plays produced in London include The Last Judgment, The Investure of El Dorado and Smoking Mirror.

Martin’s experiences of performing in The Colonel

When I met Sarah Weatherall a few days before recording, she was bright, enthusiastic and energised. I was inspired by her talk of wanting to make radio drama sound more naturalistic.

On the morning of recording I found myself in a big long corridor of a frozen fish warehouse calling 'hello' into the emptiness. Sarah came and found me wandering around. Inside was a warren of rooms that made up a really comfortable working studios. The approach was immediately different to the traditional radio drama studio recording. I was excited by the opportunity to focus exclusively on the acting and not worry too much about the microphone all the time. It was like acting in a TV drama or film. The scenes were allowed to be more intimate than is typical in radio.

The second scene of the day was an intensely emotional scene where we ending up kissing passionately. This was the first (and last) time we had to stop and consider how we were to do it. Initially we reverted to the usual radio way where Agnes kissed her hand to create the sound. That seemed to interrupt the intimacy. So as on screen, we actually kissed and it felt right.

Having John Dryden there made sense because it was a sensitive issue and his experienced voice backing up our decision helped.

We moved ito different rooms to record different scenes and this changed the feel of the scenes in a way that is difficult when recording everything in one room. When we had to go through a door we were actually going through doors instead of imagining it – much easier to perform and more natural.

The script appealed and I liked my character’s journey. I got much more from the performances with other actors as a result.  I was inspired by our method of working. Caroline Gilfillan’s vision of a torturer meeting his victim was very simple but powerful. It required simplicity that would allow the emotion to be accessible This more naturalistic approach shold appeal to our modern and cynical audience that listen to stuff online. I’d jump at the chance to work in this way again and produce drama for a different, growing audience who get most of their entertainment online.

Agnes’s experiences of performing in The Colonel

Radio is new to me but it was really lovely working with such a relaxed team. There was space for everybody to express their opinion so we could produce the best outcome - no egos, no superiority complexes.

My acting skills from theatre and film transferred well. You’re going through the emotions of the character, doing the actions physically in almost in the same way as you do on stage.or screen. With radio though, you’ve got to be more conscious of your distance from the mic for voice levels and noise.

The script was powerful and very challenging as I grappled with understanding the complex history of the characters who experience so much in such a short time span for us. As a South American, I felt very strongly about the subject. It was great having the writer Caroline Gilfillan there as she cleared up the context and was a sounding board to discuss any changes. And she was very open

Working in the interiors of The Fish Factory Studios was fine with no disruptions but when we recorded the exterior scenes, we had to take into account the surrounding noise and work around it. That inevitably caused delays.

Working with Sarah Weatherall and John Dryden was great – just like working with a director on a stage play. We had a very good understanding of the characters before recording, having discussed in depth the scenes in advance. John stepped back while Sarah made directorial decisions. Yet he was also very good at supporting her and making helpful suggestions.

Daniel’s experiences of performing in The Colonel

It was unusually like a film with an interesting location and good production team. When you’re setting something in to such a short duration, the writing has to be simpler despite the complex subject which in many ways needs more time to explore. I haven’t done much radio before but it was fun to work in the rock & roll atmosphere of the Fish Factory Studios with all the musical instruments littered about the place. As this was director, Sarah Weatherall’s debut in radio, she didn’t know certain details but it was good to have her mentor, John Dryden on hand to guide her.

The script itself isn’t to my tastes. It felt too obvious and didn’t somehow ring true for me. At times the characters felt like they were being too explained where dialogue could have really helped make things more dramatic. I guess that’s where we can be inspired by the likes of Pinter or Sean O’Casey.

Angus’s experiences of performing in The Colonel

I recorded parts for two plays on my day - The Colonel and Proud Songster. The venue was at first sight a little surprising. I’ve done most of my radio in the BBC Radio Drama studios in Maide Vale and Bush House so entering a Fish Factory was a new departure but it proved to be a relaxed and versatile space.

The plays themselves were intriguing and unusual and the direction I thought excellent. I wasn't aware that John was a 'mentoring' director and it certainly didn't confuse the issue having him. The actor’s job tends is constant - using one's imagination and common sense to achieve what it seems the writer intends while being adaptable to the director’s vision. It’s the same in radio, television, film and stage. Now Shylock beckons.

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